Australian Pub Food

If there’s one culture that I thought is quite prominent in Australia, it’s the beer drinking culture that usually happens after work in the many pubs found around town. I suppose it’s one of the common socializing activity out of work, to relax and unwind after a hard day’s labour. While I am not much of a beer drinker, I do find that most pubs here also offer reasonably cheap food. One of the latest pubs that we visited was the Hillside Hotel in Castle Hill, which has an amazing deal of $10 for a 300g T-Bone steak daily. I say it’s amazing because it’s by far the cheapest T-Bone steak that I have seen offered around Sydney. Most pubs offer $10 rump steaks instead and only at 200g.

The Piazza opposite Hillside Hotel

Salt, pepper and Tabasco

Being intrigued with its offer, I brought my mom for dinner there one night. Since she’s not a big fan of beef, she ordered the Salt and Pepper Calamari instead, another prominent candidate in Australian Pub Food menu. Some other usual suspects are Chicken Parmigiana, Chicken Schnitzel, Fish and Chips, Spaghetti Bolognese and Pizzas just to name a few. The ordering system in Hillside Hotel is pretty straightforward – one just needs to walk to the cashier, place an order, pay and receive a wireless device that will vibrate and beep when your order is ready. I find that this is one of the most efficient way to order since it requires minimal labour and allows customers the flexibility to order whenever they are ready.

Salt and Pepper Calamari with Garlic Aioli Sauce (AUD$12)

As expected, the serving was pretty huge considering it’s a dish for starters. The calamari was freshly fried, judging by the scorching hot and crispy skin. They were also nicely seasoned with salt and pepper, without overpowering the very fragrant calamari. We also found them to be tender and moist, instead of hard and tough like they easily would be when they’re overcooked.

Crispy and tender calamari

As for the special of the night, the 300g T-Bone steak arrived with a generous serving of thick cut chips. I absolutely loved the chips that were served on the side, they were crispy and hot, giving the impression that they were freshly fried. I ordered a side of mushroom sauce to go with the steak, which was separately charged at $3 each. The sauce was thick and creamy, with plenty of button mushrooms within. While I loved the sides that came with the steak, the steak itself was unfortunately slightly overdone the medium rare that I ordered. It was more medium than medium rare, but thankfully it still managed to retain the juices within.

T-Bone Steak 300g AUD$10

Steak with mushroom sauce

Hillside Hotel at Castle Hill

Overall, we were pretty satisfied with the quality of food at Hillside Hotel, especially considering the decent price tag and reasonable portions. On another note, the pictures from this visit were taken with a new device that I had the opportunity to try out. Since the restaurant was quite dimly lit, I was surprised to find that the pictures actually turned out to be pretty good without any editing required. Best of all, this device is small, light and easy to use. If you want to find out more about the other pictures you can take with this impressive device, simply click on this link and take a guess on what device it is… Who knows, you may just win one too! 🙂 www.facebook.com/NokiaMalaysia

Guess what device I used?

Do you have a good low-light camera device that you personally can’t live without?

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About Iamthewitch

Hailing from the small tropical country of Malaysia, Mei Yee (iamthewitch) has a mission of leaving a mark in people’s heart by giving honest reviews on food, detailed guides on travel plans, and sharing her parenting journey with her newborn Little J. Currently stationed in the beautiful multicultural city of Sydney, Australia, she takes respite from her full-time engineering job by exploring new places to eat and traveling occasionally to neighbouring countries. There’s nothing in the world she loves more than delicious food! And of course, her 2 precious boys. ;) Read More…